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Proposal corner

Masters 2022: Marriage proposals at Amen Corner are a tradition unlike any other

April 04, 2022
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Ben Walton

AUGUSTA, Ga. — It is not uncommon to see a patron, his face draped in trepidation and his lips brushed with pimento, lower to one knee and pop the question at Amen Corner. On Monday that patron was David LaFontaine, 26, and the proposee Helena Resler, 23, and the only thing redder than Helena’s sundress was her face when she realized David wasn’t just pocketing pine straw.

“When he told me we were going to the Masters, I specifically asked him if he was going to propose and he said no and I believed him,” Resler said after she said yes, still blushing Monday afternoon.

It is Masters week, and how can you not be romantic about the Masters? It’s a gathering that can turn the coldest cynic into sounding like Jim Nantz on nitrous oxide. Sure, sometimes the responses generated by this tournament are so sugary and syrupy they belong in a bottle of Mrs. Butterworth's, but that does not make them any less true. So what better place to propose than at Augusta National, and what better place at Augusta National than Amen Corner?

Marriage proposals have become their own tradition during Masters week, so frequent that the Augusta Chronicle usually has a photographer or two camp out on the far end of the property to snap pictures of newly engaged couples. There are other proposal sites at Augusta National—near the oak that guards the clubhouse, around the lakes on the par-3 course, the 16th hillside. Heck, even on the 14th, which might surprise some given it’s a hole known for what it is not: The lone hole on the course without sand. Which is why Jake Berry chose it as his spot. “Figured it was symbolic,” Berry said. “The 13th is my favorite, but since the 14th doesn’t have any traps, the hope was our marriage wouldn’t have any bunkers to contend with.”

But Amen Corner? That is spiritual ground. A sacred ground and visually stunning ground. Perhaps a ground that lets partners know what they are signing up for. Anyone who loves a golfer knows it’s a love divided, and if there is any doubt to that we point to a 2016 travel survey that found 44 percent of hackers would move their wedding date to play a round at Augusta National. Plus, should the proposal go south, the proposer in question can take solace to know he is not the only soul to see his dreams sink in Rae’s Creek.

Luckily for LaFontaine his (now) fiancee said yes and with beer in hand—a fellow patron, when seeing what was about to go down, figured LaFontaine would need a cold one no matter the outcome—was blooming brighter than any azalea bed could.

“This place means so much to me,” LaFontaine said. “I grew up right across the street. I’ve been coming here since I was a little kid. This is her first time attending and I wanted to make sure she would never forget.”

Makes sense. Golf tournaments come and go. But the Masters, like love, is forever.